From one foodie to another...

A friend once sagely informed me that 'serious' cooks could never 'approve' of TV chef Nigella Lawson's approach to food.

After all, Nigella has scant regard for the rules of cooking, equates food with lust, as opposed to elevating it into an art form, I suppose, and the way she eats is a routine source of discomfort for 'respectable' people.

This might also explain precisely why I adore the self-proclaimed domestic goddess as much as I do.

Pre-Nigella and the advent of the TV chef, cooking was sacred territory, only highly skilled individuals dared enter.

The less skilled among us would have to be suitably baptised before entering those hallowed confines. Nigella opened up a world that was mostly off-limits for me, the novice cook.

If, however, you are seeking a baptism of sorts, or looking to just sharpen your culinary skills, you might want to attend a cooking demo, where you will get recipes for Green and Red Thai curries, as well as a lamb dish.

You can also learn how to make steamed rice by the in-house chef. Because you know as well as I do that you must first know the rules before you can break them!